Beauty and the Beast
by theboyfriend-and-theprettygirl
Summary: Klaus had always considered himself to be a beast...emotionally damaged& incapable of loving anyone or being loved in return. When he first sees Caroline, he is instantly infatuated with her&desires to know her more intimately. She is the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on& he longs to make her his own. The only problem is, Caroline has a very persistent boyfriend.[AU]
1. The Angel in the Forest

**Author's note:**

So this is an AU story. Caroline is a human and so is Tyler. In fact everyone is human in this story except for The Originals and Bonnie (she is a witch but nobody knows her secret).

This is my FIRST ever Klaroline story, so if you like it, can you please review? I mostly write Forwood stories, so I'm kind of freaking out to write about these two!

Also, I read A LOT of Jane Austen, so I've chosen to write most of this story with that in mind, so if there is anything that you don't understand just PM me.

Thanks. Happy reading and I hope you enjoy =)

Pretty please leave me a review !

Paris xox

_**~1549~**_

Niklaus Mikaelson was not capable of love. Or that's what he atleast thought. Selfish by nature and prone to elabrote fits of rage; he was unlike his other siblings.

He was not like his youngest sister Rebekah; who searched the ends of the earth for a _true_ love that could not be compelled to love her in same way that she desperately craved for its feeling and intimacy.

Neither was he like Kol, who_ charmed_ and compelled his way through to the hearts and _beds_ of his many victims, before he made a meal of out them just for sport.

Then there was his closest brother and confidant; dearest Elijah, who believed so _strongly_ in honour and integrity -that it made him feel like the biggest monster of the earth next to his perfect, proper and right sibling. Despite being so dearly fond of his brother, he was in no way like him at all either; as Elijah too shared their sister's desire for true love. Though he would rarely admit it out loud, Klaus knew that Elijah had once fallen in love with Katerina Petrova. She was a peasant girl from Bulgaria who was meant to break the sun and the moon curse, that he was so painfully bound by. Katerina had fleed town before he had a chance to break the insufferable curse; crushing his dreams of freedom from turning every full moon and shattering his brother's heart into a million broken pieces. Klaus knew that to this day, Elijah despised him a little, for scaring away the only woman he had ever loved. It had been over 57 years and yet; the strain in the brother's relationship was still very evident to this day, despite how close their unbreakable bond was.

And then there was Finn. _Strange_, and unbelievable Finn. He was probably the sibling that he was not at all close to and therefore the most unlike of all. Klaus never really understood his brother, nor the views on which he governed his life by. He found it strange that his brother saw being a vampire an abomination and wanted nothing more than to rid the world of them. But then again, Finn always was the weird child in the family.

Klaus was despite his best efforts unlike any of his other siblings and it at times pained him greatly. He longed to share a part in the close bond that Elijah and Rebekah had for each other. He wished to have some of Kol's fun, carefree worries and attitudes; instead of dreading when he would next turn into a monster that was under the control of the looming full moon. But no matter how much he tried, he knew it was not in his nature for him to be that way inclined. His siblings were all vampires and he was also part werewolf. He was a hybrid- the only hybrid alive and he was destined to be lonely for the rest of his life.

xoox

"Nik! Kol stole my bonnet! He will not give it back to me, he is toiling with him patience! Can you please ask him to give it back to me?" Rebekah asked bursting into the library, disturbing his peace and serenity .

"Bekah, darling as you can see, I am trying to read." He said a little irritably, holding up a heavy, leather-bounded thick book.

"But I need it, so I can go into town today." She whined, continuing on about how some of her friends were going to visit Ford's to see which new ribbons were brought in this week.

Klaus sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a spilt second. This was not a something that he wanted to be dealing with right now.

"And must you come to me, dearest sister? Where is Elijah?"

"He has gone to town to get supplies for our ball tomorrow."

"And Finn?" Klaus asked, hoping that his sister would get the point.

"Nik, you cannot expect me to ask _Finn_!" she whined louder. "He is in his room being all moody and trying to find a way to break the vampire curse."

Klaus scoffed. He knew that was never going to happen. _Poor, strange Finn!_ He thought shaking his head.

"So will you please speak to him? He will listen to you Nik, please!" she begged, falling onto her knees in front of him.

"If I must," he said sighing heavily. "Ask him to come in and see me."

"Thank you, Nik!" she said kissing his cheek sweetly, before bouncing onto her feet quickly and walking out of the library to find her brother.

Klaus folded down the page he was up to in his book and shut it quickly. He got up from his chair and headed towards the library's arched window. Pulling at the ropes on the lush velvet curtains, he drew them apart and took in the afternoon's warmth. Scoping the grounds of his mansion, he took in the beautiful scene before him and smiled heartedly. His lawns were perfectly green and luscious; his hedges immaculately trimmed and sculptured; the bird's bath was filled with small birds from all sorts of varieties, stopping for some watery refreshment.

Then he saw something that caught his eye. It was a pretty blonde girl running through the trees of the forest, which was directly across from the entrance of his mansion. She looked every bit of an angel, in her long, white, flowing dress. Her hair bouncing playful, as she weaved her way in and out, through the trees of the forest's entrance. She looked as if she was running from someone one. In that second a dark headed boy, around her age came into view and Klaus recognised immediately what they were doing; as the boy too, weaved his way through the trees, desperately trying to catch the pretty girl.

"You asked for me brother?" Kol's voice said snapping him back to reality.

"Must you play games with your sister, Kol? Aren't you a bit _old_ to be vexing her?" Klaus said without taking his eyes off the pretty blonde girl.

"Must she be so annoying all the time, Nik? I was only trying to get her back for boring me half to death with the stories of her spoilt, bratty friends!"

"You didn't seem to mind their brattiness so much when you bedded them all."

"I was simply killing time brother, you know how _bored _I get when we are in one place for too long. I would have killed them, had _not_ Bekah made me swear not to harm a hair on their heads. How unfortunate for me. I've been needing some sort of excitement in my lie."

"How lucky for those girls then." Klaus said almost sarcastically. "Now Kol, I do believe that you have her bonnet. I suggest you give it back to her, before you make me mad."

"Are you to soften every time Bekah snaps her fingers, Nik? It is hardly good for your image as a scary hybrid."

"Do not test me Kol; it is almost a full moon. I'd hate for you to get in my way, brother. Now, run along and give Bekah her bonnet back." He said, his eyes still locked on the pretty blonde girl and her male companion.

Kol sighed heavily. "If I must, brother. Very well." He said before leaving the library and Klaus alone to his own thoughts on the pretty blonde girl.

xoox.

"Tyler!" Caroline shrieked when her boyfriend pinned her down onto the snowy ground. "You were not supposed to catch me!"

"It defies the purpose if I don't, Caroline! It would rarely be 'catch' if I didn't _catch_ you." he said poking out his tongue to his girlfriend and tucking back some of her blonde hair behind her ears.

"But I'm a girl and you are so much faster than I am! You are supposed to let me win!" she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Is that, right?" Tyler asked laughing a little, before lowering his face to kiss his girlfriend passionately.

Xoox

"Thank you Nik. He gave me back my bonnet." Rebekah said planting a kiss on her brother's cheek when she entered the library. "What are you looking at?"

"Bekah, do you know who that blonde girl is?" Klaus said, stepping to the side, so his sister could get a look at the beauty that had captivated him completely.

"She's Caroline Forbes." She said dryly. "Why?"

"Are you at all acquainted with her?" he asked, breaking away his eyes from the pretty blonde for the first time since he had seen her, to look directly at his sister.

"Not entirely." Rebekah said frowning. "Why, do you _fancy _her? You shouldn't Nik. That boy there is her boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood and they are passionately in love. It's actually quite depressing, that they are so madly in love and I am yet to find someone to love me in the same way."

"So you are acquainted with her then?"

"I have spoken to her a few times. She has a sharp tongue and therefore I do not like her."

"Sounds like someone I know." Klaus said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe you see too much of _yourself_ in her, and therefore you do not like her?"

"I do not like her, because I _fancy _her boyfriend and I cannot have him." Rebekah said hotly.

"You could always _compel_ his love…that has never stopped you in the past."

"I do not want to compel him. I would rather he loved me honestly. I want the kind of love he has with _her._" she said sighing heavily. "True love is always more spectacular than fake, compelled love."

"He would not know the difference once compelled, dearest Bekah."

"But I would. So there is no point. I will just allow them to be happy and wait for someone to love me in the way that he loves her."

"Sister dearest, would you be so kind to invite her to the ball tomorrow night? I'd really love to have the opportunity of conversing with her."

"Must I, Nik? I really do not like her at all."

"You can also extend the offer to Tyler, if you must."

"She won't come. We barely tolerate each other."

"Then compel her. I intend on speaking with her tomorrow night, so make sure she is there."

"I wish I did not have to do this for you Nik, but I will ask her for you... since you helped me with my Kol situation."

"Thank you, dearest sister." Klaus said before kissing her on the cheek.

xoox

Rebekah had gone off to town shortly afterwards and Elijah had still not returned himself. Klaus found himself still in the serenity of his library room, as Finn had not stirred once from his room and Kol was nowhere to be seen. He figured that Kol was probably feeding on the staff again, which would explain why he was not finding some way to annoy him, now that Rebekah was out of the house.

Caroline, the pretty blonde that had captivated his thoughts since the time he had laid eyes on her, had left the forest shortly after Rebekah went into town. Tyler, her boyfriend had gone along with her too, much to Klaus' dislike.

Rebekah had promised to seek out Caroline at her home and extend an invitation for her presence at their annual Mikaelson's Ball the following night.

Since Caroline's departure from the woods, Klaus had tried many _unsuccessful _times to continue reading the book that was so captivating before he had seen the pretty blonde; but now he could barely think straight. The words on the page no longer appealed to him and he had read the same sentence about five times before deciding to close the book shut. Caroline Forbes, though completely unknown to him, had already consumed all of his thoughts and he could not focus his attention on anything else.

xoox

It was almost ten when Rebekah returned home. Klaus was furious to say the least. Though he already knew that his sister was perfectly capable of taking care of herself - because she was a _vampire_ after all- buthe still hated the long wait to hear Caroline's reply to his invitation.

"Well, did you keep your word and ask her? What did she say?" he said interrogating his younger sister as she took off her gloves and bonnet in the corridor.

"I am barely home five minutes and you are already pouncing on me with questions." She said rolling her eyes at her older brother. "I did speak to her and she will be at the ball tomorrow. Tyler, you would be pleased to know is also coming too."

"Thank you, dear sister." He said kissing her on top of her forehead. "You have made me the happiest man today."

"Do not thank me yet, Nik. I asked her to the ball and she will come; but tomorrow she will be hanging off Tyler's arm all night and you will barely manage to get whatever it is that you want from her."

"I simply just want to get to know her, Bekah. That is all for now. Goodnight and sweet dreams, dearest sister." He said before heading up the stairs to his bedroom.

xoox

Klaus did not get a wink of sleep that night, nor did he really seem to care at all. It was one of the many advantages of being a hybrid, he did not need to sleep, or have to allow his body to rest and recuperate; it was always perfectly functional all the time.

That night he stayed up into the early hours of the morning, painting on one of his many canvases. He painted a picture of a dense and luscious evergreen forest, where a pretty blonde curly headed girl, wearing a white dress was holding a bunch of dark red roses at the forest's entrance.

By the time he had finished his detailed painting, it was time for the ball and he dressed hastily and met his other siblings down stairs in the entrance corridor of their mansion.

"Must I be here, Niklaus?" Finn asked unamused.

"Like I told you the other day, Finn, after you greet all our guests, you are free to return to your own private quarters and do _whatever_ you like." Klaus said rolling his eyes at his annoying brother. "Until then you will smile and welcome our guests to our home hospitably."

"Your guests do not even know of my_ existence_, Niklaus. I never go into town, I have no business there. So why should I bother with polite pleasantries, when I keep completely to myself?"

"Because it is _polite_, brother." Rebekah said quickly. "You may not have ever gone to town, but our family has a reputation that exceeds us. Believe me when I say that the whole town knows that I have _four _brothers. Word gets around Finn."

"Exactly," Klaus said nodding in agreement with his sister. "So it's only polite to be present to welcome them into our house. An hour of your time would hardly burden you, brother."

"I don't see why we bother having balls when we are clearly not like the rest of this town." He mumbled.

"The day that we stop trying to fit in with this town, is the day that our secret will be _exposed._" Elijah said solemnly. "We need to be hosting balls, getting to know our neighbours and keeping them on a strict watch. Otherwise, we may end up completely blindsided when they turn on us, Finn. We need to present ourselves to them as _normal _as possible."

"Elijah makes a very good point Finn. Now, I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense about meeting our guests. You will greet them warmly and then head to your room and leave the rest of us to socialise."

xoox

"Matt Donavon." a young boy around seventeen said extending his hand to Kol.

"Kol Mikaelson. Welcome to our home." Kol said being his usual charming self.

"Are you sure you told her that the ball was _tonight?"_ Klaus hissed irritably to her sister who was standing beside him.

"Yes, for the hundredth time, Nik. She will be here." Rebekah hissed back as she shook hands with a brunette girl. "Rebekah Mikaeslon. Welcome."

"Why is it then, that I do not see her?"

"The night is still young Nik, fear not. She will come, I am certain, brother."

_"Katerina?_" Elijah asked, when a pretty brunette approached him to say hello.

"No, sorry. I'm Elena Gilbert and this is my boyfriend Damon Salvatore." She replied shaking his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you just have a striking resemblance to someone I used to know. _Excuse me._" he said painfully, dropping her hand and walking away from her.

Rebekah sighed heavily, her heart aching for her brother. "I will go and check on Elijah, you tend to the guests." She said to Klaus, before heading off towards the direction that Elijah had gone to.

"You do look a lot like Katerina!" Klaus said when it was his turn to welcome Elena and her boyfriend. "Are you at all related to the Petrova's? They are originally from Bulgaria."

"No sorry. I was born and raised here in Mystic Falls."

"Fascinating." Klaus said dryly.

He was really not in the mood now, for small pleasantries when Caroline had still not come. He was beginning to become really impatient. Knowing his limits, he knew that soon his patience would wear out and he would explode into a fit of rage in front of all his guests. He really did not want that to happen. It was such an effort to compel every guest into forgetting his outburst.

Just then he saw her. She stepped inside the large oak doors to his mansion, and quickly took off her coat. She looked even more beautiful in person. Klaus pardoned and excused himself from Elena and Damon and headed directly for her.

"So glad you could make it tonight. Welcome, I'm Niklaus Mikaelson." He said extending a hand to her.

"Caroline Forbes," she said shaking his hand quickly. "And this is my boyfriend Tyler."

"Tyler Lockwood." He repeated shaking Klaus' hand politely. "Thank you for inviting us here tonight."

"It was my pleasure." He said without taking his eyes off Tyler's stunning girlfriend.

xoox

"Elijah, are you alright?" Rebekah asked, sitting next to her brother on the stone steps that led to their mansion's extensive garden.

"I'm fine, sister do not vex yourself. I just needed a moment…some fresh air."

"I know this must be hard for you." Rebekah started, slowly touching her brother's shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Elijah said lying quickly.

"Do not lie Elijah, you do it poorly. I know exactly when you are untruthful; you never were a good liar. You are too honest and pure to deceive anyone. So I will say it again… It must be so hard for you; she does have a striking resemblance to Katerina."

"But she is _not _my Katerina." He said exhaling loudly. "Katerina is gone and she will never come back, Bekah." He said looking at his sister through foggy eyes. "I thought things like this were meant to get easier in time; but the heart is treacherous and it painfully _taunts _you daily…even some fifty-seven years later."

"Do you really believe that she will never return?"

"I do. I wish I could have some kind.._.hope_. But I would just be allowing myself to be completely in denial. I need to confront the issue here at hand and deal with it, so I can move on and finally let Katerina go. She is not coming back, sister."

"Sometimes, no matter how hard it may be, it is best to have a faith." She said taking her brother hand into hers and squeezing it gently.

"It's almost been sixty years, Rebekah." he mumbled softly.

"And what is a mere sixty years to an immortal? We are vampires Elijah, we have all the time in the world! Trust me, when I say that Katerina will come back to you. I know I would. You are a decent man, Elijah. Honest, upright, loyal and kind. You are one of the few gentlemen that I have come across in my entire existence!"

"You are too kind, sister but you are also very biased."

"Biased or not, I know for a fact that if you were not my brother, you would be the exact kind of man that I would love. You set the standard for me now. I have searched the earth's ends for a man to love me. For someone who deserves me and who will treat me right. But I have been blind. I have dated men without principles...men who merely appeared attractive and now I suffer the consequences. So I swore to myself that when we moved to Mystic Falls that I would _only _date men, like you. You inspire me, Elijah. You make me want to be more selective of who I date. I know that if I only date a man like you, that I will not get hurt again. So I will wait. No matter how long it takes. And if it takes sixty years or a century, I will still have faith and hope that he is out there and will find me. Just as I know that Katerina will find her way back to you again, dear brother."

"Thank you for your sweet words and concern, sister." Elijah said squeezing her hand gently. "Should we get back to our guests?"

xoox

"So Caroline, tell me a little about yourself. What are you interests? Your desires for life?" Klaus asked enthusiastically, trying to get to know the pretty blonde.

"There's not much to say. I'm in my final year of school. I will more than likely become a governess when I finish." she said sighing heavily. "My life is pretty boring, actually."

"Have you always wanted to become a governess?"

She shrugged her shoulders quickly. "There is not much else I can become. My father is dead and my mother is getting on with age. I need to be able to support myself for the future."

"You'll have me for that, Care." Tyler said kissing his girlfriend's forehead. "You never need to worry, sweetheart."

"I know Ty." She said smiling sweetly at him. "But it won't hurt to have a backup option to fall back on."

Klaus felt physically sick to his stomach.

"And what is it that you do exactly, Tyler?" Klaus asked slightly unamused.

"Well my father is the Mayor of Mystic Falls, so I was thinking of either following in his footsteps and doing something with politics or becoming a lawyer. I'm not too sure yet, but I have some time before I need to decide."

"Fascinating." Klaus said dryly, without taking his eyes off Caroline.

"This is a really beautiful house." She said finally, when an awkward silence had fallen over the three of them.

"Perhaps you will allow me to give you a tour around?"

"Oh," she said laughing a little and blushing heavily. "That won't be necessary. I was simply making a statement. I don't mean to pry."

"It wouldn't be an intrusion at all! I would be glad to show you around the place."

Klaus could tell that she was slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that her boyfriend was standing next to her and he was completely ignoring him and only focussing all of his attention solely on her.

"Can I perhaps get you something to drink? Wine? Champagne?" Klaus asked trying to get Caroline's undivided attention away from Tyler.

"Some champagne would be nice." She said smiling sweetly at him, making his cold heart melt instantly.

"I'll see to it." he said turning quickly and heading towards the kitchen in search for the most expensive bottle of champagne.

On his return with the bottle and two glasses, he saw Elijah and Rebekah walk back into the ball.

"Bekah, sweetheart. I was hoping that you could do me a massive favour." He said pulling his sister aside. "I want to get to know Caroline a little better, but it is extremely hard while she flirting with her boyfriend in front of me. Could you please take him somewhere and distract or entertain him for a bit?"

"Hmmm let me see," she said cocking her head to the side playfully. "You want me to take the most gorgeous guy that I've ever laid eyes on to another room and _entertain_ him? I can think of justthe perfect way to do so."

Klaus laughed heartedly at his sister. Only she could understand him in ways that his other siblings could not.

"Caroline, so lovely to see you!" Rebekah said fakely when she had approached her. "So this is Tyler, am I right? Rebekah Mikaelson, I don't think we've been formerly introduced." She said extending a hand out to Caroline's boyfriend. "Pleasure."

"Likewise." He said nodding his head at her a little.

"Tyler, you look like a nice, _strong _young man…" Rebekah said sweetly, "I was wondering if you could please move a trunk in my bedroom for me? It's extremely heavy and I would ask my brothers, but as you see they are clearly not as built as _you_ are. So I fear that they are no help at all."

Tyler hesitated and looked at Caroline quickly. "Isn't there someone else that could perhaps do it for you instead?"

"I'm not too sure. I would never trust the servants with such a task, as my valuable belongings are held inside." She said faking disappointment. "I thought it would be an easy task for someone like you. It will only take a few minutes with a man of your strength."

Tyler sighed heavily. "I suppose I could quickly do it." he said smiling a little uncomfortably. "I'll be back soon, Care." he said kissing his girlfriend on the cheek quickly.

Klaus mouthed a quick thank you to his sister when Caroline and Tyler were not looking and he handed Caroline a glass of Champagne.

"Thanks." She said taking the glass a little uncomfortably.

"So how about that tour?"

xoox

**Author's Note:**

**Please leave me a review;)**

**Paris xxx**


	2. New Sensations

**Author's Note:**

I don't know if anyone is reading reading this. So if you are or if you like it, please leave me a review.  
This is my first Klaroline fic, I hope that I am doing an alright job because I mostly write Forwood fics lol.

Paris xxx

* * *

"So where exactly is this trunk?" Tyler asked a little uncomfortably, when he had stepped inside Rebekah's room.

Rebekah had clearly not thought this through well enough. She had promised to distract Tyler for a bit, so Nik could pursue Caroline but this was going to be harder than she had expected; given that there was no trunk that needed moving.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked, locking her bedroom door behind them and leaning against it. "But you've got to promise me that you won't get mad with me."

"I would just rather move this trunk and get back to my girlfriend, actually. Where is it? Would it be under the bed?" Tyler asked dropping down to his knees to check under her four-poster bed. "I don't see it."

Rebekah laughed at his naivety. "Here's no trunk, Tyler. You can get up."

"Why did you-"

"Lie?" she asked cutting him off quickly. "Because I fancy you. I find you interesting."

"I have a girlfriend, I'm sorry."

"I know and she will never need to know." Rebekah said seductively. "It can be our little secret."

"I think I should be going now." He said trying to head towards the door.

"Ok fine, we don't have to do anything, but can we at least talk for a bit?"

"I should be getting back to Caroline. I'm sure she will be wondering where I am."

"Caroline is fine. She's with my brother; I assure you that she is in good hands."

"Your brother has been trying to make moves on her all night. I don't think she is in the safest company. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go and find my girlfriend."

"Please don't make me have to do this the hard way." Rebekah said sighing heavily. "Look, just stay with me for about twenty minutes and I'll let you return to Caroline then."

Twenty minutes was all that she would need. That would give Klaus enough time to get to know Caroline and realise that she was nothing really special. She just had to keep Tyler as distracted for as long as she could for her plan to work. Otherwise, Klaus would become fixated on the perfect idea of Caroline he had made up in his head, rather than getting to know the real version of her boring self.

Rebekah sighed heavily. This was not how she pictured having Tyler Lockwood in her room all the times she fantasied about him in the past!

"Why are you so determined to keep me here?" Tyler asked snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I told you. I find you interesting, Tyler."

"He put you up to this, didn't he?" he asked angrily.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Rebekah lied quickly, trying to come across as sweetly and innocently as she could.

"Your brother. You're helping him by keeping me distracted up here, so he can harass my girlfriend!"

"Smart man." She said before taking a sip of her wine.

"Move out of the way, please." Tyler said angrily as he tried his best to reach past her for the doorknob.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Rebekah, I don't want to hurt you, so I suggest you move out of my way."

"Must we really do this the hard way? Fine, don't say that I didn't warn you before." She said sighing heavily. "You are going to sit down on the bed and talk to me until I tell you that you can leave; and you will not talk about Caroline Forbes." Rebekah said compeling Tyler stay with her eyes.

xoox

"And this is my favourite room of the house." Klaus said opening the door to his library to show Caroline.

"It's really lovely." She said looking on in awe of the room. "There's a lot of books in here. Do you read much?"

Klaus wanted to tell her that he had read all of these books several times over, but he didn't want to freak her out with going into details of how immortals spent their time over the years.

"I read my fair share. Do you read a lot?"

"Not as much as I used to." She said walking further into the room, to admire his book collection closer.

"I used to buy a new book every week but now I hardly have a chance. My mom has been a little ill lately, and I've been trying to save money in case of an emergency."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom, Caroline." Klaus said sincerely. "But you are more than welcome to borrow any books that you want from here."

"That's really lovely of you. Thank you." she said smiling at him a little.

Her small smile literally melted his cold heart. It was so unusual for him to feel this way about someone. There was a time that he had thought he might have liked Katerina Petrova, but he realised that never really had. He had only needed her for breaking the sun and moon curse. No other girl came to mind when he thought of women that had enticed him over the centuries. No women until her…

"So you want to be a governess…" he said, drawing on something she had said earlier in the night.

"It's more than likely what I will do when I finish school." She said sighing heavily.

"But it's not something interests you?"

Caroline laughed. "How do you know?"

"You lack the _passion_ it takes in describing what you want to do for the rest of your life. I noticed that you don't seem too thrilled. This just seems like more of a means to an end."

"It's something like that." she said picking up the book that he was reading yesterday and flicking through the pages. "This is my favourite book."

"Mine too." He said smiling at how much despite being absolute strangers to each other they had in common. "Can I tell you something, Caroline?"

Caroline nodded quickly and continued to skim through the pages of the thick book.

"I think you shouldn't settle for anything else that makes your heart beat passionately out of its chest. Apply that to all aspects of your life and you will be fine."

Caroline laughed loudly and rolled her eyes quickly. "I don't quite know how to be passionate about my career, but I'm open for any suggestions you might have."

"Do the thing that makes you most happy. Find your passions and ignite them…life is only worth living when you are doing the thing you love the most. Why bother with mundane, boring things and routines? Challenge yourself. Surprise yourself."

"And how do you suppose me to do that?"

"By finding out who you really are as a person! What are your talents, Caroline?"

"I don't know."

"Surely you must. You don't have to be so modest. A_ gorgeous_ girl like you should have an endless supply of talents. I'm sure of it."

Caroline blushed, her cheeks flaring beetroot red instantly. She had no idea what to say to this.

"Can you sing, perhaps?"

"No." she laughed shaking her head quickly from side to side. "But I can play the harp quite well."

"There's a talent!" he said smiling. "I would love to hear you play for me one day. The harp is such a beautiful instrument, one of my absolute favourites."

"So Niklaus Mikealson," Caroline said a little flirtingly, "what then are_ you_ passionate about?"

"Allow me to show you." he said smiling and leading the way out of the library.

xoox

"This is my second favourite room in the house." Klaus said when they had reached a locked door at the end of the hall. "If I am not in my library I can be found here. This is where I come to be undisturbed."

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small key. Caroline was starting to become extremely nervous. She had no idea what was inside the locked room. She was almost on the verge of suggesting that they re-join the party but curiosity had gotten the best of her. There was something about Klaus that she found exciting. He seemed like he was a dangerous person, the kind that she usually avoided in general; and yet somehow she was so drawn to him. She needed to know more about him. She wanted to know what he was passionate about. She wanted to find out the secrets hidden behind the locked doors.

Klaus stuck the small key into the lock and it popped open quickly making a loud clicking noise that made Caroline jump a little. He reached for two already lit candles hanging along the hallway's wall and handed one to her.

Caroline waited for Klaus to walk inside first. From the light of his dim candles she could see that the room was some kind of workshop. There were long tables that held pieces of carven and uncarved wood, painting tools and carving equipment. Along the walls, there were hundreds of paintings and portraits. Caroline gazed on in amazement. She couldn't believe the sight before her eyes. Every portrait was so immaculately beautiful and detailed.

"Did you paint all of these yourself?" Caroline asked in wonder as she held up her candle towards a portrait on the wall, to examine it more clearly.

"Yes."

"They are so beautiful!"

"Do you really think so?" he asked modestly.

"Yes! Have you ever thought of selling you work? You are definitely really talented"

"I have thought about it from time to time. But I never do."

"Well you should! How did you ever paint all these? There must be over a hundred paintings in here."

"Let's just say that I have _a lot_ of time on my hands." He said smirking a little.

"If I had your talent, I would be selling what I painted. I would be able to support myself and my mom comfortably. You have no idea how much money you could make with a talent like this!"

"True." Klaus said nodding in agreement. "But I do not share my paintings with anyone. As you can see I keep this room locked at all times. You are the only person that has ever seen my work."

"Aside from your family, I'm guessing." She said correcting him.

"No, even my family have not seen what this room holds. I am a very private person, Caroline. I tend to keep to myself. I love my siblings to death, but they do not share the same passions as me. So I keep this part of my life private from everyone."

"Why then did you show me?" she asked frowning a little.

"Because you have captivated me completely and I fancy you. I fancy you a lot actually."

"_Excuse me?"_ she asked a little startled by his response.

"I said that you have captivated me-" He repeated before she cut him off quickly.

"I heard you the first time." She said starting to feel a little angry. "I should be getting back to Tyler now."

"I've scared you off, haven't I?" he asked running in front of her to block the exit to the door. "I didn't intend on making you feel uncomfortable. I was only trying to show you what I am passionate about."

"I should go."

"Caroline," he said pulling her close to him roughly.

She was standing directly in front of him now, their faces so close, that their lips were only inches apart. Klaus watched as a range of emotions spread across her face quickly from embarrassment to annoyance to hate.

"Let go of me at once." She shrieked loudly.

Klaus smirked. He was too busy admiring the rise and fall of her chest. He could feel her accelerated heart rate start to kick that much faster at his touch.

"How long have you been with Tyler?" he whispered against her ear, his hot breath tickling her ear.

"Why do you care?" she asked stubbornly, refusing to answer his question.

"My sister was right about you. You do have a sharp tongue! But that's alright. I quite enjoy the challenge." He whispered against her ear again, this time making her whole body shudder with excitement.

Klaus was enjoying every second of this. He loved the way that Caroline's body was responding to his touch, despite all her protestations. She might have appeared angry on the outside, but he could tell by the way that her heart was beating that she longed desperately for him on the inside.

"Please let me go." She begged.

"Not until you answer my question first." He whispered hoarsely, this time making her knees buckle a little.

"Three years. Almost four."

"And in the almost four years that you have been with him, has he ever made you feel like this? Has he ever made you want to ravish him because you've desired him so much?"

"Yes." She said quickly.

"You're lying, Caroline."

"I am not."

"Caroline, I have eyes and I am not easily fooled. I have observed you all night next to Tyler. What you have with him is a sweet love." He said spinning her arm in his arms, until he was holding her from behind. "You both undoubtedly care for each other and love each other immensely but there is _no passion_…_no desire…no lust _in your relationship."

"My relationship with Tyler is absolutely none of your business." She said snapping loudly.

"Remember what I said to you when we were in the library? You should never settle for anything else that makes your heart beat passionately out of its chest."

"We were talking about careers!" she said trying to elbow him so she could break free.

"And I told you to apply that to _all _aspects of your life. You can fight me all you want Caroline, but I know you _desire me. _I see how your body is responding to my touch, how your senses ignite when I whisper in your ear like this…" he said against her ear, his voice thick with lust, that it made Caroline shudder uncontrollably again.

"I want to go to Tyler now." She said closing her eyes and fighting against the urges she was starting to feel for his dangerous man. She hardly knew him at all and yet she wanted him so badly. He was slowly driving her insane.

Caroline felt her accelerated heart rate pump so hard against her chest. She prayed that Klaus would not hear as her heart thumped loudly and uncontrollably against her ribcage. She was definitely aware of the affect he was having on her body and he was absolutely right in saying that she had never felt like this with Tyler.

She knew that she should be trying to fight him off harder, granted he was too strong and she would never win; but at least she could try. Yet somehow, she was drawn to their closeness. Sensations she had never experienced before began to overtake her weak and vulnerable body. She liked the feel of his hands on her stomach, on her hips…She loved the way she felt a tingling sensation when he whispered against her ear. The way her knees buckled at his slightest touch. The smell of alcohol that oozed out of his hot breath. It was starting to scare her exactly how much she wanted him…

"Please let me go back to Tyler." She pleaded, trying her hardest to fight the urges to ask him to kiss her hard.

"Very well." Klaus said releasing her gently. Her heart fell slightly and she looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "But know this Caroline; Tyler will never make you feel the _way_ that I did tonight."

With one last look at him, she was gone. Caroline ran down the hallway so fast, that she tripped on the hem of her dress and tumbled roughly down on the hard wooden stairs. She wanted nothing more than to find Tyler and go home. She needed to put this night behind her because she was honestly scared to spend another second near Klaus; the stranger she had just met that made her question everything.

xoox

**Please review!**

**Paris xxx**


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